25 years after its original release, Klonoa, the game that most recognise but don’t necessarily remember, has returned to our consoles. The big-eared feline-rabbit protagonist isn’t the most popular of gaming icons to bless our screens, with the likes of Crash and Sonic taking the limelight, but could this change now that people can re-experience this 3D side-scroller? Or, experience it for the first time? It’s quite possible, but it’s let down in a select few ways.
Klonoa first came to us back in 1997 on the PS1 with Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, and received a sequel on the PS2 in 2001 with Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil. Both games are now available on the Switch with the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, fully remastered complete with updated visuals, and performance.
The game’s story follows Klonoa, a “Dream Traveller” whose job is to traverse between the worlds within dreams in order to try to bring peace and harmony to them. You will be joined along the way by numerous residents of the dream worlds but, of course, for every positive, there’s a negative and you’ll meet plenty of dastardly fiends who want to bring nightmares into the real world and make them a reality. Klonoa will not let that happen – or at least, will try his best not to.
Both Klonoa games do feature a little bit more narrative than you would perhaps be used to in games of this genre, and although it’s mostly light-hearted, it does have some heavy-hitting moments that will punch you in the gut when you least expect it. This effectively adds to the experience and even allows it to feel more wholesome at times.
Both games feel very similar to one another, and the gameplay is typical of what you may expect from its original time of release. You run through bright and vibrant areas filled with various enemies, collecting Dream Stones, solving puzzles, and rescuing captives before finally reaching an end-of-level boss. You know, the typical platforming experience. The unique thing about both Klonoa games is the way they give the illusion of a 3D platforming experience when you’re still following a 2D path with loops and bends and I really liked this gimmick.
What took a little bit of getting used to for me (as I have not played these games previously) is the fact that you cannot simply jump on top of an enemy to destroy it like we are so used to in platforming games. No, in Klonao you are required to shoot them at close range with your Wind Bullet, which will inflate them and allow you to carry them. Carrying them will allow you to use them as a projectile to destroy other enemies, or even use them mid-air for a handy little double jump.
The enemies that you encounter in Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series serve more of a purpose than simply getting in your way and causing you grief. Enemies are needed in order to solve puzzles, get to higher places, and gain access to collectibles. You cannot simply ‘stomp’ your way through a level, you need to really consider what enemies are actually required and this added an interesting element of strategy to the gameplay as you can’t just run through a level.
Where I found Klonoa to be lacking was in its variety of gameplay mechanics and enemies. There are only a few different enemies to encounter, causing a lot of what you see to become very repetitive, and the game could do with more abilities and/or power-ups as a majority of the time you will only be using the Wind Bullet. There’s nothing particularly wrong with that, it just would have helped to break up the gameplay a little.
As for collectibles, there are six different items to collect along your travels, neatly tucked away in places you perhaps wouldn’t think to look, as well as 150 Dream Stones to pick up throughout both Klonoa games. As annoying and difficult as collecting these may seem, it’s totally worth doing as you will unlock further levels if you 100% a certain number of stages.
The visuals are wonderful, with many of the levels making you question if these were really created in the 90s. There’s a great variety of worlds to see from wacky circus levels to stunning jungles, all of which are memorable long after you’ve cleared them.
The game’s performance, however, wasn’t always at its best within my playthrough. Klonoa targets 60 fps as a baseline, and at most points, it did hit this. But there were some moments where the game would take a significantly noticeable drop. Although this didn’t affect the gameplay in any way, it did leave me feeling a little disappointed.
In terms of value for the collection itself, Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series is pretty highly-priced at £44.99. In my opinion, this is just a little too high for the content you’re actually getting. Yes, you’re getting two games, but the reality is these are quite short with an estimated completion time of between 10 and 20 hours for the two. Add to that the fact that the concept art and soundtrack player are locked behind paid DLC and this collection just doesn’t live up to its price tag.
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series £44.99
Summary
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series offers players a nostalgic look at a relatively unknown platformer with a cult following. This is undoubtedly the best way to experience these games, even if they are priced a little too high.